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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24589132">New Master</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Doctor_Discord/pseuds/Doctor_Discord'>Doctor_Discord</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Trauma AU [9]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Video Blogging RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Branding, Cannibalism, Conditioning, Guilt, Murder, Past Abuse, Past Relationship(s), Permanent Injury, Scars, Whipping</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 06:16:04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,329</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24589132</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Doctor_Discord/pseuds/Doctor_Discord</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Eric is lost without the Actor. So he gravitates to who he views as a perfect replacement.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Illinois/Eric Derekson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Trauma AU [9]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1739428</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>69</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>New Master</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Illinois sat curled up on his bed, too afraid to leave his room.</p><p>Well…<em>afraid </em>wasn’t the right word. He didn’t know what to call it, honestly. Anxiety? Shame? <em>Something?</em></p><p>Something that left him <em>terrified </em>to face Eric.</p><p>Illinois was his <em>boyfriend</em>. He should’ve <em>protected </em>Eric, he should’ve <em>saved </em>him, he shouldn’t have let the Actor get his hands on him. Illinois had <em>tried</em>, but the Actor had been…well, Illinois couldn’t do much when he was being punched <em>hard </em>in the jaw by a ring-decorated fist and knocked half unconscious to the ground, could he?</p><p>That still didn’t stop the <em>guilt </em>from plaguing his mind. Even after the initial capture, what had he done? <em>Nothing</em>. Trapped in a cage like an animal. And the one time he <em>finally </em>tried to defend Eric, tried to break free and <em>save </em>him, save <em>all </em>of them, it had gotten Eric hurt. <em>Really </em>hurt. Because the Actor didn’t punish <em>Illinois </em>for acting out. No, he’d punished <em>Eric</em>, and Illinois had been forced to watch <em>his own whip</em>, something <em>he knew </em>would flay Eric alive bite into Eric’s back <em>over </em>and <em>over </em>and <em>over </em>and –</p><p>Illinois curled tighter on his bed. He felt sick. He’d done <em>nothing</em>. Watching Eric get hurt…because of <em>him</em>…Illinois hadn’t done much more after that. Curled up in the back of his cage like a beaten dog. He couldn’t even look at Eric whenever he came by to take care of the caged egos. It’s not like Eric would’ve said much back. He’d been broken. The beautiful light in his eyes had gone out long ago, leaving nothing but a shell of the man Illinois loved. He didn’t even <em>remember </em>Illinois. He didn’t remember any of them. And it hurt a <em>lot</em>.</p><p>Illinois didn’t even know if it was worth it to start over. Would they even work together anymore? Eric’s only reference for a relationship now was the Actor. Illinois <em>hated </em>that fact. And Illinois himself wasn’t exactly ‘whole’. Watching the Host go mad before his very eyes, watching Eric get <em>branded </em>by the Actor in a grand public display, watching Eric get hurt over and over, watching Eric break, watching the <em>others </em>break little by little. He himself was broken. That tended to happen when one was shoved in a cage for <em>months</em>.</p><p>There was a soft knock on his bedroom door, and Illinois’ head snapped up, shocked out of his memories and self-loathing. The knock came again after a long moment, more hesitant than before, and Illinois got out of bed, heading over to open the door. He started to recoil before he stopped himself, opening the door wider. “…Eric?”</p><p>Illinois’ reaction to him, or maybe something in Illinois’ tone, or maybe a combination of the two made Eric flinch back himself, stumbling back a couple steps. “Um –” He stared at Illinois with dull, glassy eyes, almost black. Before, they’d been so warm and brown and full of light –</p><p>Eric didn’t say anymore, just…stared. Illinois realized he probably didn’t know he <em>could</em>. Illinois truthfully knew very little of how the Actor had treated Eric. None of them really knew. Everything the Actor did in front of them was simply just for show. The only one who <em>did </em>know was Dark, and…it was no use getting anything out of him. Every mention of the Actor, no matter how vague, made Dark curl into such a tight ball, it was like he was trying to disappear into himself. Illinois didn’t want to know what the Actor had done to him to make him react like that. So Illinois prompted Eric to say more. “Um – what did you want?”</p><p>Eric bowed his head, though Illinois could still see his eyes darting about the hallway. Illinois stepped back into his bedroom, holding open the door and gesturing for Eric to come in with a soft command to go with it, and Eric hurried inside. Illinois closed the door, and when he turned back around, Eric was on his knees in the middle of his bedroom, staring up at him with big pleading eyes. Illinois swallowed. “…Eric…?”</p><p>“Will –” Eric’s eyes darted back to the floor, fingernails digging into his thighs. “Will you be my master?”</p><p>Illinois <em>paled</em> so fast he had to lean back against the door, a bit dizzy and light-headed. “Come again?”</p><p>“Please?” There were those pleading eyes again as Eric stared up at him. “I don’t – I don’t know what happened to my master. I don’t know know why I was taken from him. I –” Eric…genuinely looked very close to tears, and his voice was so small and broken, it broke Illinois’ heart. “Please?”</p><p>Illinois knew exactly what had happened to the Actor. After Wilford had had his own revenge, well…the Actor <em>had </em>kept Bim half-starved. He needed <em>something </em>to keep him from going completely feral once freed from that cage. But Illinois wasn’t going to tell Eric that. So instead he croaked out, “…Why me?”</p><p>A brief smile spread across Eric’s face. “<em>Because</em>…” The smile fell. “Because…” His eyes returned to the floor, and he shifted. “You…just…” He shrugged. “Feel right.”</p><p>Illinois was both stunned, <em>relieved</em>, and absolutely <em>horrified</em>. What did that mean? Did – Did Eric think he was like the <em>Actor? </em>The thought made Illinois feel sicker. Or did Eric still have a <em>tiny </em>grasp on who he used to be? Did some part of him recognize what Illinois once meant to him? Illinois wasn’t going to lie, he <em>craved </em>having Eric back with him, he <em>loved </em>Eric, with all his heart. But he knew he shouldn’t. If Eric was going to in anyway get better, break free of the conditioning and trauma the Actor had instilled in him, he didn’t need a ‘new master’.</p><p>But Illinois was selfish.</p><p>So he said, “Okay.”</p><p>The smile that spread across Eric’s face made him feel all the more guilty. But Illinois didn’t have time to process it before Eric was pulling off his shirt, and –</p><p>God the <em>scars </em>that decorated his body. Eric had always had scars. Most from his father. But now, there were ugly, puffy scars that crossed Eric’s stomach, his ribs, and the horrific, Godawful <em>brand </em>of the Actor’s name burned across his chest. Illinois was glad he couldn’t see Eric’s back. He didn’t want to know what his whip had done to him. He didn’t want to see the scars that probably littered the rest of Eric’s body, either.</p><p>“What are you doing?!”</p><p>Illinois couldn’t keep the panicked <em>horror </em>out of his voice, and Eric <em>froze</em>, like a terrified rabbit. Illinois could see his chest suddenly heaving with fear. Eric licked his lips, eyes wide, and he seemed so <em>small</em>… “Aren’t…” His voice was small and weak. “…Aren’t you going to brand me?”</p><p>Illinois nearly gagged. “What?! No! No, no no no, of course not! I’m not going to <em>hurt </em>you, Eric, I’m not –” He swallowed back bile. “I’m not that type of…master…”</p><p>That didn’t seem to reassure Eric. In only seemed to make his panic <em>worse</em>. “But – but then how will people know? How will <em>I </em>know? Please – <em>please</em>, just – <em>please!</em>”</p><p>Tears began rolling down Eric’s face, and a sob escaped him. Illinois rushed forward, unable to help himself as he guided Eric to his feet and into a hug. Eric seemed to stiffen in his hold – when was the last time he’d been hugged? – but Illinois ignored it for the moment. “Okay, okay, we’ll – we’ll work something out, but I <em>won’t </em>hurt you<em>. </em>I won’t. And <em>please</em>…” Illinois’ voice broke as he pulled back. “Please don’t call me ‘Master’. I don’t – I don’t want that.”</p><p>Eric tilted his head in confusion. “Then – what am I supposed to call you?”</p><p>Illinois smiled a bit. “My name. Illinois.”</p><p>“Illinois…” Eric repeated. He smiled back. “I like your name, Illinois.”</p><p>Illinois laughed a bit. <em>God </em>this was <em>so fucked up</em>… “Thanks, honey. I like your name, too.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Next, you find out what happened to Bim during all that time with the Actor....</p><p>Tumblr: doctordiscord123.tumblr.com</p></blockquote></div></div>
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